ART APPRECIATION

Presented by
Ar.Amruthaa Jayabaalan
Assistant Professor. SCSA
UNIT 2 - VOCABULARY OF ART

● Introduction of the vocabulary of art

● Elements
● Principles
ELEMENTS OF ART PRINCIPLES OF ART

● LINE ● BALANCE
● SHAPE ● EMPHASIS
● FORM ● HARMONY
● SPACE ● VARIETY
● COLOR ● GRADATION
● VALUE ● MOVEMENT
● TEXTURE ● RHYTHM
● LIGHT ● PROPORTION
● UNITY
POINT :

It is a continuous mark made on some surface by moving a point.

Connecting points with specific distance is line.
An exclusive of points.
 Elements of Art : L I N E
EMPHASIZING LINES :
● It is a type of line which shows the edges/ corners of an object.
● Also known as contour lines.
● Used to identify the object.
● Used to separate one object from the other.
● Eg: PARIS MUSIC HALL by Henri-de-Toulouse

DE-EMPHASIZING LINES:
● Some artists try to eliminate/ hide the outline/ boundary/ edge of
the object.
● In such cases they use this type of lines.
● This type of lines can be achieved by the technique of light and
shadow in art.
● Also known as painterly lines/ sketchy lines.
● Eg: PAINTING OF HAYSTACKS by Claude Monet
● RECLINING FIGURE by Hendre Moore
 Elements of Art : L I N E

LINE

● Foundation of drawing.
● Series of connected dots or prolongation of a point.
● Suggest shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth,
distance, rhythm, movement & a range of emotions.
● Two or three dimensional.
 Elements of Art : L I N E
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO LINE

CURVED HORIZONTAL VERTICAL JAGGED

Comfort & ease Distance & Calm Height & Strength Turmoil & Anxiety
 DIFFERENT EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES TO LINES Elements of Art : L I N E
● Freehand lines - Personal energy & mood of the artist
● Mechanical lines - rigid control
● Continuous lines - lead the eye in certain directions
● Broken lines - the ephemeral or the insubstantial
● Thick lines - Strength
● Thin lines - Delicacy.
DIFFERENT EXPRESSIVE QUALITIES TO LINES
Movement of lines play an important role in appreciating an artwork.
● Horizontal : calmness
● Vertical : strength, stability
● Diagonal : tension
● Curved : flowing, wavering
Eg: calmness – WIVEN PARK by John Constable
Tension- THE ELEVATION OF CROSS by Peter Rubens

Other than these there are axial lines which are used to find if the
objects is tilted or not.
It is a dream line or imaginary line which will not be seen in the
art.

Eg: WAR SERIES by Jacob Lawrence

Elements of Art : S H A P E
● The term shape refers to an area of a real or imaginary object.
● Shapes may take on appearance of a solid 3-dimensional object
but in fact they are 2-dimensional.
● Shape is composed of lines, and other elements of art.
● Shape can be created by – LINES, PAINTING, TEXTURE DIFFERENCE

GEOMETRIC ORGANIC

● Clear edges ● Free-flowing

● Man made ● Irregular
● Nature
Elements of Art : F O R M
● A form is a shape in 3-dimensional since it has a added
dimension of depth.
● Two important features of form are MASS and VOLUME.
● Mass refers to the bulk of a form
● Volume refers to the space within a form.

● Overall composition of the artwork: Color, shape,

Juxtaposition,contrast & dimension.
 Elements of Art : S P A C E
● Space can be thought of the area that is between, around, above, below, or within a object.
● Space can be a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional element.
● Space that is 3D is recognized as having height, width and depth.
● 3- dimensional space is known as the actual space.
● Some artists have devised several techniques to create the illusion of depth in 2- dimensional work
to visualize it a 3-dimensional work.

These techniques include :

● Overlapping the shapes in a work

● Making distant shapes smaller and closer shapes larger
● Placing distant shapes higher and closer shapes lower in the picture
● Giving less detail for the distant shapes and more detail for closer shapes
● Usually dull and less intense colours are given for the distant shapes
Colouring distant shapes with hues that appear bluer
Eg: THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPARDS
by Giorgione
Elements of Art : C O L O R
● Most important & noticeable element.
● Classified into: primary, secondary &
intermediate.
● Different colored sectors used to show the
relationship between colors.
● Produce tints (add white), shades (add black) &
tones (add grey).

Three types of colour categories:

● Primary colour
● Secondary colour
● Tertiary colour
Elements of Art : C O L O R
Apart from these, there are also
● Complementary colour
● Analogous colour
● Neutral colour
● Warm colour
● Cool colour
Elements of Art : C O L O R
Elements of Art : C O L O R
Elements of Art : C O L O R
Elements of Art : V A L U E
● Artists apply different values to their work of art to clearly visualize the object.
● If there is a gradual change in value, the surface is either concave or convex.
● If there is an abrupt change in the value, the surface is a flat one.
Elements of Art : T E X T U R E

● It is the surface quality of an object.

● To identify whether the object is rough or smooth in the art work.
● Some artists glue materials such a papers, cloth, or other real
objects to the surface of their work of art.
● This type of technique is known as collage and was introduced
around 1911 by a group of French artist known as CUBISTS.
● Some art work will look like rough but it will be smooth while
moving your hands over it.
● Some will be smooth in visual but rough in feeling and so on.

● Eg: THE SUITOR’S VISIT by Gerard Ter Borch

NEWSPAPER COLLAGES by Lee Korasner
THE CLOUD by Jose-de-Creeft
Elements of Art : T E X T U R E

● Eg: THE SUITOR’S VISIT by Gerard Ter Borch

NEWSPAPER COLLAGES by Lee Korasner
THE CLOUD by Jose-de-Creeft
Elements of Art : L I G H T

Light can drastically change how we see a piece of art, specially

sculpture.
Value refers the darkness or lightness of a surface.

Eg: ABRAHAM LINCOLN by Daniel Chester.

HEAD OF YOUTH by Annibale Carracci.
Principles of Art : B A L A N C E

It is the way of combing the elements to add feeling of

equilibrium or stability.
Balance can be of two kinds – Symmetrical & Asymmetrical.

SYMMETRICAL : formal balance 2 halves of the work is identical

one half exactly mirrors the other simplest kind of balance.

Eg: HOMAGE TO THE SQUARES by Joseph Albers.

Principles of Art : B A L A N C E

ASYMMETRICAL : it is more informal considers qualities such as

hue, intensity, value, size, shape, etc..

all these qualities have an effect on visual weightage of objects.

Eg: WOMEN OF A LARGE WINDOW by Richard

 Principles of Art : E M P H A S I S

● Emphasis is also called contrast.

● It is a way of combining elements to stress the differences
between those elements.
● Contrast elements are used to direct and focus the viewer’s
attention on the most important parts of the design work.
● Using the same colours, lines, values, shapes, forms, textures,
space relationships again and again creates monotonous
and uninteresting.
● To avoid this, centre of interest can be created.

Eg: PAINTING NO.5 by Marsden Hartley.

Principles of Art : H A R M O N Y

● It is a way of combining similar elements to accept their

similarities.
● It is accomplished through the use of repetitions and
gradual changes.
● Complex, intricate relationships are avoided.
● Often a limited number of like elements are used.

Eg: RELATIONAL PAINTING by Fritz Glarner.

 Principles of Art : V A R I E T Y

● It is the way of combining elements involved ways to create

intricate and complicated relationships.
● It is achieved through diversity and change.
● Artists use this principle when they want to increase the
visual interest of their works.
● Variety can be achieved by the use of various lines, hues,
values, textures.
● For an art to be successful, careful blending of harmony and
variety is essential.

Eg: CHINESE RESTAURANT by Max Weber.

 Principles of Art : G R A D A T I O N

● It is a way of combining elements by using a series of

gradual changes in elements.
● Unlike emphasis, which often stresses sudden and abrupt
changes in elements, gradation refers to an ordered step
by step change.

Eg: MORTLAKE TERRACE by Joseph M.W. Turner

 Principles of Art : M O V E M E N T

● It is a way of combining elements to produce the look of

action to cause the viewer’s eye to sweep over work in a
certain manner.
● Movement is also used to direct the viewer’s attention to a
centre of interest.
● This is achieved through placement of elements so that the
eye follows a certain path.
● In a 2-dimensional art work, the motion is a illusion
● eg: A Horse pictured at a full gallop gives an impression of
motion. But some 3-dimensional artworks actually do move.

Eg: TIDAL by Gaber Peterdi.

Principles of Art : R H Y T H M

● This is realized through the careful placement of repeated

elements in a work of art to create a tempo or beat.
● These repeated elements invite the viewer’s eye jump
rapidly or glide smoothly.
● It is closely related to movement.

Eg: same shape may be repeated several times and arranged

across the picture to create the sensation of movement in a
certain direction.
Principles of Art : U N I T Y

● There is another important thing to remember in principle of

art is the unity.
● It is the overall relation between the elements.
● It describes the total effect of the work of art.
● It is the overall concept/ principle.
 Principles of Art : P R O P O R T I O N

● This is refers to the relationship of certain elements to

the whole and to each other.
● This is closely related to emphasis.
● Artists often relied on the principle of proportion to
point out important figures or objects in their works.
● Most important works looks larger than others.

Eg: THE THREE MARYS AT THE TOMB

THANK YOU . . .

Presented by
Ar.Amruthaa Jayabaalan
Assistant Professor. SCSA